Minister Landsbergis: "The international response to China's economic coercion shows that strength of a country is not the only measurement of international order"
Today, the Head of the Lithuanian diplomacy participated in the discussion "Trade Winds", organised by the Peterson Institute for International Economy. The discussion was moderated by Cecilia Malmström, former EU Commissioner for Trade and Home Affairs, and focused on what the European Union should do to strengthen the EU27's resilience to China and other authoritarian regimes, what kind of relationship with the US is needed for a stronger Europe, and why Ukraine's victory will be a victory for the whole democratic world.
"The international response to China's economic coercion against Lithuania (exclusion of Lithuania from the customs system, other measures) shows that strength of a country is not be the only measurement of international order," said Mr. Landsbergis in a panel discussion on relations between EU countries and China.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs also noted that Lithuania's principled stance towards Taiwan and its ambition to strengthen relations with countries that stand for the international law and democratic values helps to find new trading partners in the Indo-Pacific region. Lithuania's exports to 10 countries in the region are already 4 times higher than previous exports to China.
Mr. Landsbergis and Ms. Malmström also discussed the need to continue tough sanctions towards Russia and other accomplices assisting the aggressor in the war against Ukraine.
"We should not expect sanctions to suddenly force Putin to stop his aggression or to change his dictatorial behaviour, but we can all see that sanctions are hitting Putin's inner circle particularly hard. The loss of access to the benefits of the free Western market has severely restricted not only the personal habits of the Kremlin regime, but also the day-to-day Russian economy. We need to tighten sanctions, to widen the range of sectors sanctioned. Sanctioning Rosatom and other strategic companies is not only a political message, but also a coherent continuation of the EU sanctions launched after the 2014 occupation of Crimea," the Minister noted.
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